


In All But Name

by lavvyan



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, Steve McGarrett Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 17:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16180046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavvyan/pseuds/lavvyan
Summary: "Wait, was that a grin? Are you grinning at me? Because let me tell you something, if you're just pretending to be asleep so I'll spill all my deepest, darkest secrets in an hour of emotional weakness..."Like Steve doesn't know them all already."... I'm not even going to wait for you to wake up, I'll bop you over the head right now!"Even in a semi-comatose state, Steve can drive Danny up the wall.





	In All But Name

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Narkito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narkito/gifts).



> I wanted to write a fluffy feel-good fic for Narkito, except I hit neither fluffy nor feel-good, stalled, and didn't finish until now. With a fluffy-ish ending. Which is something at least, right?
> 
> Right.

Steve doesn't know when he started taking Danny for granted. He thinks it must have been after the time Danny went and collected him all the way from Afghanistan. No one had ever flown halfway around the world to make sure he's okay. No one has, since; maybe that's because Steve has taken to simply having Danny tag along in the first place. Because he knows that, sooner or later, Danny will show up anyway if Steve gets himself into deep enough trouble. 

Now, he knows that. Back then, it had floored him. 

"Hey, babe."

He can probably be excused for not anticipating Danny, though. His own father, who'd at least had a military background, hadn't shown up to rescue Steve from his brief stint as a POW in '08. It would have been ludicrous to expect him to. To have his team, who'd been his friends for barely over a year, show up in North Korea... it had been mindblowing. But he'd put it aside as a case of sweet if misplaced loyalty, an undercover op, fighting crime far outside their jurisdiction... until Danny. In Afghanistan. In an active war zone. Not because of Wo Fat and the threat he posed to the Island. 

For Steve. 

"Doctor says there's plenty of activity in that harebrain of yours so I should go ahead and talk to you. I pointed out that never, not once, do you listen to a word I say. Do you know what he did?"

Do you know what Steve did? 

"He laughed."

He let himself get used to the idea. That Danny would have his back, no matter where, no matter when, no matter what. Let himself get used to it, made his peace with it, learned to rely on it. 

"Can you believe that?"

Learned to believe it with all his heart. Whatever happens, however much they may argue, Danny will be there. In sickness and in health. It's absurd, but...

"I think he thinks we're married or something."

Yeah. Turns out that's an easy mistake to make. Because somewhere along the way, probably not long after Afghanistan, Steve started taking Danny for granted. And once he realized that's what was happening, do you know what he did? 

A sigh. 

He _reveled_ in it. For the novelty value at first. The sheer, unexpected pleasure of having someone who won't leave, who won't try to send you away, who'll stay and bitch at you even if you take the cheap shots. 

And he had. Taken the cheap shots for a while. He doesn't even know why. Testing, maybe. Making sure. 

"Charlie misses you. So does Grace, even if she tries to be grown-up about it."

Like a little kid testing if their parents will keep loving them even if they behave badly. But he'd stopped that, stopped himself from shoving Danny away to make sure he wouldn't leave, because surely Danny would never leave the second half of his liver? And they'd been better, until Danny's sudden retirement plans had thrown Steve off his balance. That had been awful, until he'd understood that Danny well and truly planned to stay on O'ahu. With Steve. 

There'd been no stopping himself after that. He'd been all in, BFFs and everything. Despite Lynn, despite Melissa... if there is one truth in Steve's life, one thing he believes in, it's this:

" _I_ miss you."

Heart and soul, Danny is his. To have, to keep, to take for granted. And he's happy that Danny takes him for granted in turn, when he's not busy worrying about Steve's health. He really is. Having someone rely on his presence is something he didn't even know he needed until he came back to O'ahu. It's just that...

"You schmuck."

… the 'have and keep' parts have been giving him trouble. As in, he's never known how to be had. Or kept. 

Did Danny just call him a schmuck?

"Wait, was that a grin? Are you grinning at me? Because let me tell you something, if you're just pretending to be asleep so I'll spill all my deepest, darkest secrets in an hour of emotional weakness..."

Like Steve doesn't know them all already.

"... I'm not even going to wait for you to wake up, I'll bop you over the head right now!"

Yeah. Steve's pretty sure he's smiling.

"Steve? Hey, you in there? Open your eyes, buddy, come on."

He wants to. He really does. But it's not happening. 

"Can you do that?"

Sorry.

"Steve?"

Feeling like Sisyphus pushing the damn rock up the damn hill, Steve manages to twitch his hand, spreading his fingers a little further apart. An enormous effort that will ultimately lead to nothing, because there's no way that-

Danny's fingers slip between his own. Danny's thumb rubs warm circles over the back of his hand. 

"Hey."

Danny's voice so soft now, and Steve doesn't know if the breath catches in Danny's throat or his own when he twitches his hand again, the slightest squeeze. 

Danny squeezes back. 

"Hey, it's okay, you're okay. All right? Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Which, _yeah._ Steve knows that. He just needs Danny to know that _he's_ not going anywhere, either. 

Gathering all his pathetic strength, Steve squeezes again. Short. Long. Short short. Pause. Short short. Short. Pause. 

L. O.

His hand is trembling. 

Short. Short. 

Danny's grip tightens, stops him. Steve doesn't have the strength to fight it. 

"You're a... I don't even know what you are." Danny's voice is hushed, almost choked, filled with quiet vehemence. "I love you too, you jerk."

So much. So completely, it scares him sometimes. 

Letting out something that might be a breath, might be a sigh, Steve allows himself to sink back down into the twilight place, awake but not. Danny's hand a warm weight on his own, their fingers still linked. Drifting, but safely anchored. 

After a moment, Danny starts talking again, but Steve just lets the words pass over him without listening. They can talk about this later. 

Neither of them is going anywhere.

**Author's Note:**

> They'll be fine.


End file.
